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Getting Started with Photoshop

Photoshop is one of the most powerful and useful programs available for your computer, but it can be very difficult for a beginner to get to grips with the many options and techniques it offers. This article should get you up to speed with getting started with Photoshop.

What Can I Do With Photoshop?

Photoshop is the leading program for image manipulation and editing, and the set of tools it makes available to users is so vast that the only real limits are the knowledge and skill of the use. Beginner users will perhaps use Photoshop mostly to perform basic photo editing techniques; adjusting light levels and colour balance, cropping photographs and removing red-eye are very common and very simple ways of getting used to the way that Photoshop works and beginning to develop basic skills.

Purchasing Photoshop

The current version of Photoshop is CS6, which is the thirteenth major iteration of the program, and it is available for purchase and download directly from Adobe’s website, with discounts avaiable for a condensed version known as Photoshop Elements or for students wanting to purchase a copy to aid their studies. Photoshop is a professional-level program, and is priced accordingly, but for those on a limited budget, the GNU Image Manipulation Program or GIMP is a comparable free alternative. Adobe also offers a free web-based image editing tool called Adobe Photoshop Express, as well as an iOS version.

Advanced Photoshop Techniques

Of course, Photoshop is known for its use in fashion photography and the like in ‘air-brushing’ photographs to make their subjects look as glamorous as possible. You can use the same techniques as professional photo manipulators using Photoshop at home, but first you need to learn some advanced techniques. Fortunately, a range of internet resources offer very helpful text and video tutorials, as well as the chance to ask Photoshop experts for advice. Particular sites of note are the Photoshop sections of leading tutorial websites tutsplus.com and tutorialized.com, both of which offer a range of learning opportunities from those just starting out with the basics of Photoshop to expert users who are looking to expand their knowledge of specific techniques. In addition to these two, the Photoshop-specific site photoshopessentials.com is a great resource that focusses on guides to everyday applications of Photoshop like photo editing and printing.